Cancer is a scary word because, so many times, the outcome is not what we had hoped for. There’s at least one kind of cancer, though, that can nearly always be caught ahead of time: cervical cancer.
The tool with which to catch it? A pap smear.
This simple, routine screening saves lives, which our team at Apex Medical Professionals is in the business of doing. If you don’t have one scheduled, you should book your pap smear now — it may save your life. Here’s how.
A pap smear is a simple, routine test that checks the health of the cells in your cervix, which is the lower part of your uterus. Your provider will use a small brush to gently collect a sample of cells from your cervix, which are then sent to a lab to be checked. You may feel a little pressure or mild discomfort, but the test will be over quickly.
Pap smears are usually conducted during your annual well-woman exam.
The information gathered during a pap smear is critical to your health. Cervical cancer develops slowly and may not show symptoms in its early stages, but pap smears can catch abnormal cell changes before they progress into cervical cancer.
Catching these changes early allows for intervention and treatment that would not be as effective if you waited until symptoms appeared.
Most pap smear results come back normal. And, while abnormal results don’t always indicate that cancer is present, they do sometimes mean that your doctor will want to monitor the health of your cervical cells closely or repeat the test soon. You may also need additional testing.
Screening recommendations for pap smears vary according to your age, medical history, and individual risk factors. Typical recommendations call for women to have their first pap smear at age 21 and then have one every 3 years. After age 30, the interval can increase to 5 years, and after 65, you may stop pap smears completely.
Your provider may have different recommendations for you based on your situation.
If you’re due for a pap smear, our team at Apex Medical Professionals is here to help. We answer all of your questions, explain the results of your pap smear, and guide you if additional testing or treatment is needed.
To schedule an appointment, call our Fair Lawn, New Jersey, office or use our online scheduling tool to pick a convenient time to see one of our doctors.
